


Conquest of Spaces

by Talinor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Emperor Keith AU, Bonding, Canon Divergence, Flashbacks, Flirting, Kral Zera, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 00:18:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14884007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Lotor groaned and stirred beneath him, jarring Keith out of his thoughts. Keith practically scrambled off of him and onto his feet. He offered his hand to the still-recovering form beneath him, who fixed his eyes on Keith quickly after cracking them open. He reached out to accept the unspoken offer and gave his counterpart a somewhat weary smile."You know," he grunted as he was pulled to his feet. "We havegotto stop meeting like this." He quickly set to readjusting a few uncomfortable pieces of armor, dusting it off and almost trying to make it look... presentable? Keith couldn't fathom why. "Really. We should try meeting someplacemuchnicer. With less gunshots and explosions."Keith chuckled at that, minimally helping Lotor's efforts along. He caused it, so he might as well fix it. "You're right," he said. "But that'd kinda go against the whole point of our jobs, Lotor."Lotor quirked up a brow. "Whoever said it'd be involved in our jobs?" He tilted his head towards Keith with a teasing expression. "I certainly didn't mean to imply anything of the sort."





	Conquest of Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea why I wrote this other than self-indulgence but here it is  
> enjoy!

When Keith woke up this morning, he had no idea what truly lay before him. Sure, he knew the Blade's plan of sabotaging Kral Zera. He knew what he had to do.

Thing is, knowing what you need to do and actually _doing_ it are two completely different things. They had a plan, but plans change. Even if they don't officially change, circumstances can turn things on their head. Wrenches are commonly thrown into them when they're least expected.

His wrench in particular came with long smooth hair, purple skin, and a very familiar face. Lotor was here. Of course he was.

_Adrenaline coursed through his veins, drowning out nearly every sound around him. Only in the aftermath did he take a moment to truly acknowledge what he had been about to do. What he had accepted. Death had stood right in front of him, offering his hand as silently as the space around his meager little cruiser. He had nearly taken it. He'd been prepared to take it._

_When he noticed the bright light overtake his vision, he thought he had. His heartbeat was his only proof otherwise. His breath caught in his throat as a different light enveloped his damaged cruiser, and a familiar voice finally filled the void in his mind._

_"Don't worry," he assured. "My name is Prince Lotor. Who is this brave, sacrificial soul?"_

And _of course_ he was fighting right in front of the blast zone. With the magnitude of the explosives they'd hooked up, there was no doubt in Keith's mind what would happen to him. He would be absolutely obliterated. There wouldn't be anything left of him once it was done.

_"Keith," he answered, his tone strangely calm. "I'm-"_

Keith felt his heart catch in his throat at the thought. Lotor was too important to h- _their mutual cause_ to let that happen. The Universe still needed him.

_"Ah," Lotor interrupted. "I know who you are. My only question now is... what is such a talented pilot doing, nearly throwing his life away? The Universe still needs you."_

_Keith didn't answer. He couldn't._

So he set to action. He didn't waste his time with a plan of how to actually get Lotor out before the explosion. He didn't have a lot of time to waste. He could only run down the narrow corridor and hope he could get out in time.

Not for his sake, but for Lotor's.

Thankfully, Lotor was the only one standing right in front of the entrance. A stairway was right behind him. If his sense of time was right, they didn't have time to run down before their heads would be burnt off. So he went with the best solution he could possibly think of.

He used his running momentum to tackle the former Prince all the way down in one fell swoop. For the few moments they were airborne, all Keith could feel was the tense body in his arms, the searing heat inches from his back, and his heart beating out a melody in his ears.

_"Lotor," he finally spoke, emerging from his thoughts. He looked to the Prince within his Castle cell. "I have a question."_

_Lotor's expression shifted to one of mild intrigue. "Very well, Keith," he leaned back against the wall casually. "What do you wish to know?"_

_"You didn't know who was in that Galra cruiser. Why did you save me?" It was a simple question, but it was like a bandaid- he asked it quickly to get the pain of it over with. He didn't speak his follow-up question, but it hung in the air between them. 'Why didn't you let me die if you didn't know who I was?'_

_Silence ruled the moments that dragged onwards after that bombshell. Finally, Lotor sighed and got up from his seat with an unreadable expression. He walked right up to the fully clear entrance of his cell. His eyes bore right into Keith's. "Because," he said softly. "I believe that every creature in the Universe has an unspoken worth and purpose. It is not my place to decide whether or not that is fulfilled in..." His eyes fell down to the floor, regret shining clearly within them. "...most cases."_

_Keith waited for him to eventually continue. It felt like he had a greater point to this. Eventually he did, the guilt washing from his face as it turned to Keith once more. "That was the initial reason. Once I knew who you were, however? I knew I had to help you further. Because I have this... instinct within me that tells me you are meant for much bigger things than you have already accomplished." He put his hand up against the glass, giving Keith the most soulful look he had ever seen. "Now I only wish that you knew that before now. That you saw the true worth inside yourself without it being shown to you."_

_Keith didn't answer once again, but he did move. He mirrored Lotor's stance nearly exactly, save for one difference- his forehead resting against the cool glass. He saw Lotor do the same before his eyes fluttered shut, soaking in the serenity of the strangely intimate moment they were having._

_His comm beeped in his back pocket, signaling the Blade needed him once again. His trip to the Castle was over. The intimacy was shattered within one simple sound. Keith broke away from it, reaching for his comm. He spared a glance back. "I... I have to go."_

_Lotor gave him a courteous smile. "Of course," he said. "I understand. Duty is an ever-constant caller. I simply hope our next meeting is much more pleasant than our first one."_

_Keith chuckled at that, leaving behind traces of a soft smile. "Yeah," he said. "Here's hoping."_

The impact Keith endured was somewhat softened by Lotor's form beneath him, even with his armor. He could only imagine what the landing was like for the prince. A slight oversight on his part, but he got the job done. They were both alive- a success in his book. Lotor had sustained much worse than whatever he'd experienced from this little fall. Everything would be fine. Hopefully.

Lotor groaned and stirred beneath him, jarring Keith out of his thoughts. Keith practically scrambled off of him and onto his feet. He offered his hand to the still-recovering form beneath him, who fixed his eyes on Keith quickly after cracking them open. He reached out to accept the unspoken offer and gave his counterpart a somewhat weary smile.

"You know," he grunted as he was pulled to his feet. "We have _got_ to stop meeting like this." He quickly set to readjusting a few uncomfortable pieces of armor, dusting it off and almost trying to make it look... presentable? Keith couldn't fathom why. "Really. We should try meeting someplace _much_ nicer. With less gunshots and explosions."

Keith chuckled at that, minimally helping Lotor's efforts along. He caused it, so he might as well fix it. "You're right," he said. "But that'd kinda go against the whole point of our jobs, Lotor."

Lotor quirked up a brow. "Whoever said it'd be involved in our jobs?" He tilted his head towards Keith with a teasing expression. "I certainly didn't mean to imply anything of the sort."

"You? Not working?" Keith shot back, feeling at Lotor's head for any bumps. "I think you hit your head too hard during the fall. You feeling okay?" 

He knew this little game between them too well. It had developed during one of the various video calls they'd managed to have whenever Keith wasn't using it to talk to any of the others at the Castle. When it was just them. In their strange little relationship, they always ended up this way, trying to provoke the other first. He had no idea why they really did this weird game of communication chicken, or why it felt so... comfortable to him, but he still went along with it. He had some... instinct within him that it'd be okay. That Lotor wouldn't cross any uncomfortable boundaries.

So this little banter between them was perfectly fine with him. Even though he stiffened a bit when Lotor took one of his hands and guided it to his cheek, he managed to remain calm. Despite the way Lotor looked down at him, with a soft smile on his face and a fondness in his eyes. 

"I am perfectly content right here and now," he said. "How could I not be, with such lovely company?" That definitely got under Keith's skin, but he managed to hide it well.

At least, until Lotor took it a step further by moving Keith's hand off his cheek gingerly. Keith's knuckles softly grazed smooth lavender skin until they made their way to their ultimate destination- Lotor's lips. They didn't remain for long, but their brief presence was enough to fully nail in Keith's coffin. There was no way he could have hidden it from Lotor. One look in his eyes confirmed that.

Keith removed his hand quickly. Lotor willingly gave it up, and didn't look bothered by it. In fact, he looked more satisfied with himself than anything else. Prick.

"Lotor," Keith said. "I-"

Before he could say anything, a shot rang out. The brief streak of light barely missed Lotor's hand and landed in the ground nearby. If it was only seconds earlier, it definitely would've hit both of them. They shot each other a look of mutual understanding. Now wasn't the time to delay further. They had a ceremony to continue crashing.

"Shall we continue this discussion another time?" Lotor asked, pulling out his blade from its sheath. "Teasing aside, I meant what I said."

Keith did the same, already rearing up for the battle ahead of him. "Maybe," he said simply. "We'll see how this fight goes, and what happens after it."

Oh, if only he knew then what lay ahead of him.

If he had known, or had any kind of inclination to it, he wouldn't have sprung into this particular battle so quickly. He wouldn't have done what he usually did- shut his brain off and rely on his instincts alone- for this particular one.

Yet strangely enough, his instincts urged him along his path. They told him that this was the turning point in his life and that he had to give it everything he could possibly offer. He had no reason not to trust his instincts on what felt like such an important matter. So he obeyed them.

The Galra at the Kral Zera were very commendable fighters, but it felt like they were moving in slow motion in Keith's eyes. His body seemed to be hyperaware of every movement his opponent would make, and he would act accordingly. He had no fucking _clue_ what was happening with him, but he didn't think to question it much. He simply went along with it.

In the chaos of it all, he lost sight of Lotor easily. Yet strangely enough, he couldn't find it in himself to be too concerned about it. Lotor was a commendable warrior. Keith knew he would do just fine.

Still, something within him urged to find Lotor. So he did the only reasonable action he could think of- he grabbed a torch and started his way up the stairway close by. With every step he took, his blood sang in celebration until it was nearly the only thing he could hear. This felt wonderfully _right,_ though he had no idea why.

 _"No!"_ a familiar indignant cry rang out through the courtyard. He spared a look back to find Sendak, who had been otherwise preoccupied. But in that moment, his fury was focused exclusively on the lone figure nearly at the top on the stairway. His new prosthetic arm moved to intercept, only to be interrupted by a quite familiar blade.

Lotor's.

Lotor strained to hold the gigantic piece of magic-infused metal in place, but he was successful. At least for the moment. He managed to meet Keith's eyes, then made a show of looking up at the strange altar at the very top of the stairway.

Keith understood immediately. He wasted no time in racing up the steps, despite the many shots and blades thrown his way. He dodged them all with relative ease.

Sendak's hand was far less easy to avoid. It held Keith's form in a vice-like grip, pinning most of him in place. The key words being 'most of him'. Sendak had missed one very important limb of Keith's- the arm holding the torch. He was a few steps away from the altar. All it would take is one sure movement, and probably a little bit of faith.

So he shut his eyes, held his breath, and threw the torch towards the altar.

There were a few moments of unbearably tense silence. The sounds of the Galra fighting amongst themselves stopped, as they all seemed to finally notice what was going on. It felt like every pair of eyes were focused on him and what he had just done. His drum-like heartbeat was the only sound he could hear for what felt like far too long.

Finally, an impact. A slight crackle, and then an intense burst of flame as the torch transferred its light to the altar. Keith opened his eyes to confirm- it was indeed set ablaze, and the curious old Galra beside it moved towards him with an impossibly smooth stride for his apparent age and purpose in every step. His time-weathered filmy eyes trained on Keith, seemingly scanning every detail of him within seconds. Like he was a lone cell right underneath a microscopic lens.

He moved right up toward Keith, until their faces were inches apart. A bony clawed hand touched his forehead. An electric shock ran through his spine at the contact, as if a message was sent through a telephone wire. Yet he... didn't mind it. The old Galra didn't alarm him in the slightest.

Especially when the ancient Galra hummed in approval. "Not the most traditional candidate," he mused, then smiled privately. A spark of timeless wisdom shone in his eyes once Keith's met them. "But every sovereignty needs a bit of controversy to make way for progression." He moved his hand off of Keith, and instead set to Sendak's prosthetic. It took a second of strain from both of his hands, but before he knew it, Keith was set free from the traplike grip. The ancient Galran tapped the metal twice, and it moved back to its owner mechanically.

 _"Him?"_ Sendak asked incredulously, indignant rage burning in every aspect of his body. "Grandmaster, he can't possibly be the next Emperor! He's not even Galran!"

He can't possibly be the next... what now? Keith tensed slightly at the revelation, but his body instinctively relaxed as soon as the sage Galra- the Grandmaster, apparently- put a hand on his shoulder. "You would be incorrect about that, Commander. Galra blood runs through his veins, though admittedly it's closer in composition to our former Prince," he gestured to a dumbstruck Lotor staring right at Keith. "Than the rest of us."

Sendak scoffed. "A sih-taaran, then. Even better," he turned to face his fellow Galra. "A half-blooded whelp is being considered for the throne. Is _this_ what our Empire has come to?!" The words definitely had effect. Murmurs rose out among the previously silent crowd. He saw a few former officers furrow their brows and reach for their weapons. 

A strange indignant tension began to build within Keith. A fire began in his belly, and it grew with every word against him. They were trying to take this away from him, but a foreign yet... familiar instinct wouldn't allow that. He had no idea why he wanted this massive responsibility on his shoulders, but some formerly dormant part of him was willing to fight for it.

"Commander," the Grandmaster's voice silenced them all. "He is perfectly capable of--"

"-Speaking for himself," Keith spoke without thinking. It was like he was back in his fighting frame of mind- no thoughts to trip him up with doubt, just pure action. "With all due respect, Grandmaster." The Grandmaster didn't seem bothered by the interruption. If anything, he seemed to be intrigued by what Keith was going to say.

"I'm not like your former rulers," Keith continued and turned to the crowd, calm despite his heart racing in his chest. "I will be the first one to admit that. But tell me something- why should I _have to be?"_ He saw Lotor's lips break into a proud smile. "For ten thousand years, the Galra Empire has expanded across nearly the entire Universe. It's gained immense military power, but you know what it's exchanged for that?" Keith raised a brow to the crowd, silently daring any of them to try and answer.

Not a single one tried.

"Everything else." He continued after a moment. "Individuality. Culture. Respect not dragged out of others by fear and cruelty. For eons, the Empire has remained stagnant in these aspects. Now it's paying the price for it." He had no idea where this little speech came from or how he was really doing it, but he didn't bother to question it. It was slowly winning the crowd over. "The Galran Empire- _our people's_ Empire-" God, that felt... weirdly right to say. "Is dying."

Sendak still wasn't buying it. "What," he said doubtfully. "Are you going to revive it somehow, pup?"

"I'm not foolish enough to guarantee anything," he said truthfully. "But I am going to try my damn hardest." A gasp made its way to him quickly afterward, and nearly every eye trained behind him. Every eye except Lotor's. He was too busy gazing at Keith with proud awe.

The loud and extremely heavy metal landing behind him told him exactly what was behind him. Or, more appropriately, _who._

Team Voltron knew how to make a dramatic entrance, after all. Two yellow spotlights pierced through the dust clouds to highlight his figure. Lotor apparently decided to use that to his advantage, quickly dashing up the steps to be only slightly under Keith. They met glances, and Lotor nodded slightly. Urging him to continue.

"Now, people of the Empire, I wish to ask you three simple questions," Keith said, bringing out his blade and letting it activate. "Will you rise? Will you follow?" A surprising amount of members shouted in affirmation. More than he was expecting, honestly. "And, most importantly," he jammed his blade into the stone next to him and kept his hand on the very end of the hilt. _"Will we flourish?"_ Once again, a resounding answer filled the old crumbling coliseum.

The answers were so loud, he nearly didn't hear Lotor speak to the crowd. "People of the Galra Empire, may I present to you- your leader," he looked to Keith with shining eyes. "my dearest friend, but most importantly- _your Emperor!"_ In a flourish, Lotor moved to one knee, bowing his head down. He placed his blade in the stone steps, and Keith watched in silent awe as others actually followed his example. Lotor met his eyes as he looked up at him with a warm fondness that made his already racing heart skip a beat.

And in that historic moment, they both knew.

This was what Keith was meant for. And he was determined to do it, no matter how difficult it would be.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to leave a comment! I love hearing from you guys!!  
> my tumblr: squishy--squish


End file.
